Casting means for line casting machines



AM 7, mm H, R FREUND zmmw CASTING MEANS FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES FiledMarch 26, 1935 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CASTING MEANS FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES Herman R. Freund,Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to lntertype Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of New York The present invention relates to improvements intypographical machines, and more particularly line casting machines ofthe general class disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 436,532 grantedSeptember 16, 1890 for producing type bars or slugs from characterbearing matrices, wherein matrices each having a character in an edgethereof are assembled into lines which are clamped endwise between visejaws and presented to a mold so that the character bearing portions ofthe matrices close the casting cavity along the front thereof, moltenmetal being injected into the mold from the rear to cast the type barsor slugs against the matrices and thus form printing characters on thefront edges of the slugs.

The present invention relates more particu-- larly to the matrixclamping jaws and. molds of machines of this class and it provides novelcooperative relations between these parts of the machine wherebyportions of the printing edges of slugs beyond the type charactersthereon will always be cast automatically at a predetermined level whichwill enable zinc or other forms of printing plates containing cuts orthe like, which must stand at the same type height as the characters onthe slugs when assembled or made up in the printing forms, to be mounteddirectly on the slugs, thereby avoiding the necessity of milling off orotherwise reducing the height of the blank portions of the slugs tobring them to the proper height for such purpose.

Attempts have heretofore been made to cast low surfaces, commonly knownas low-quad surfaces, on the printing edges of slugs beyond the typecharacters thereon, it having been previously proposed to employso-called low-quad matrices each having a projection on its casting edgeinstead of a formative character, such projection being intended toenter the front of the mold slot or casting cavity and thereby reducethe height of the slug. Such attempts however have not been successfulin practice since such matrices must be placed in the matrix lines byhand and if the lines are shorter than the column width or slug length,a sufficient number of such matrices must be placed in the line to fillout all of the blank space beyond the characters. Such a procedure notonly consumes much valuable time but it has the further objection thatthe projections on the matrices must be of exactly the same height asthe mold slot in order to closely fit and form a metal tight seal orjoint between the top and bottom walls of the slot, and when suchprojections on the matrices are so made, it

is impractical if not impossible to so aline the matrices that theprojections thereon will enter the slot as the mold advances in theusual or well known manner, without being damaged due to scraping of thematrix projections against the 5 mold thus preventing a proper metaltight lock up of the matrices with the face of the mold. It has alsobeen proposed to cast slugs of low height over their entire length sothat they may be used for under-pinning or so-called furniture, by nmeans of slides clamped like matrices between the vise jaws and having acontinuous tongue or extension of the same length as the casting cavityto enter the front thereof and close it and thus reduce the height ofthe slug, but such proposals it also present the same difiiculty ofexactly alining the tongue or extension of the slide with the mold slot,and the consequences thereof, as stated above, with respect to theprojections on lowquad matrices.

The improvements provided according to the present invention not onlyovercome the foregoing difficulties and objections but they areapplicable advantageously to line casting machines in which the matrixline clamping or vise jaws are arranged movable in order toautomatically fill out or quad out, without employing blank matrices,whatever blank space may happen to be left beyond the printingcharacters at either or both ends of the slug whereby low-quad areas maybe cast on slugs at either or both ends thereof.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to the castingof low-quad areas on slugs at either or both ends beyond the printingcharacters thereon, the movably arranged vise jaws are each providedwith a continuous rib which projects from the casting face thereof andextends over the entire length thereof, this rib however being widerthan the height of the casting slot of the mold instead of equal theretoand engaging with vertical faces on the front of the mold adjacent tothe top, bottom and ends of the casting slot and set back from the usualvertical front face of the mold a distance equal to that to which therib projects toward the mold from the face of the respective vise jaw.The relationship thus established between the vise jaws and the moldavoids the difiiculties encountered in entering within the mold slot theprojections on low-quad matrices or low-quad casting slides to such adegree of accuracy as to perfectly seal the mold slot, as heretoforeproposed, the facewise engagement or lock up of the ribs on the visejaws against the vertical inset faces W of the mold immediately aboveand below the casting slot therein assuring a perfect metal tight jointat all times, and at any position into which either or both of the jawsmay be moved.

The present invention further provides alining rails on the vise jaws tocooperate with the usual matrix alining groove in the mold as anadditional means for improving alinement and for aiding in the supportof the vise Jaws during justification of the matrix lines.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinaftermore fully described, the features of novelty being pointed outparticularly in the claims at theend of this specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a slug casting machine equippedwith automatically movable vise jaws as viewed from the rear, the visejaws being provided with the low-quad ribs according to the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of a slotted slug casting mold recessedaccording to the present invention above and below the casting slot toreceive the ribs on the vise jaws;

Figure 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line3-3 in Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line4-4 in Fig. 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the section shown in Fig.3;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the relation betweenthe alining rail on one of the jaws and the mold as the latter advancesprior to the slug casting operation;

Figure 7 is an elevation of a slug cast in accordance with the presentinvention.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in theseveral figures.

The present invention is applicable generally to slug casting machinesof the general class hereinbefore referred to, and the preferredembodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing andwill be hereinafter described in detail. It is to be understood howeverthat the invention is not restricted to the precise construction shownsince equivalent constructions are contemplated, and such will beincluded within the scope of the claims.

In the present instance I designates a portion of the vise frame, 2designates the mold disk and 3 and 4 designate the cap and body of aslug casting mold mounted on the molddisk, the mold having a slot orcasting cavity 5 in which the type bar or slug is to be cast. It will beunderstood that the mold disk may carry a plurality of molds as usual inmachines of this class, each mold for example being of a different sizeto produce slugs of different sizes, and the mold disk is rotatable tobring a selected mold thereon into casting position.

6 and l designate respectively the right hand and left hand vise jawswhich serve to clamp a line of matrices M and spacebands endwise infront of the mold. These vise jaws are both mounted in the vise frame sothat either one or both of them may move longitudinally of a moldoccupying casting position, and means is provided for automaticallyquadding or centering lines on slugs by moving either jaw alone or bothjaws simultaneously, the means shown in the present instance forcontrolling the quadding and centering movements of the right hand andleft hand vise jaws corresponding with that disclosed in U. 8. LettersPatent No. 1,970,527 granted August 14, 1934 to Samuel E. Sperry, towhich reference is made for a detailed disclosure of the constructionand mode of operation as an example of a quadding and centeringmechanism which may be employed. For the purposes of the presentinvention it is deemed suflicient to explain that the right hand andleft hand jaws 6 and 1 respectively are closed against the ends of thematrix lines by an operating lever B which is actuated at appropriatetimes from a cam or other suitable part in the machine, this operatinglever reciprocating a rack bar 9 which may be operatively connected by apinion device I0 and other devices 'as disclosed in said Sperry patent,to either one or both of the vise jaws. It will be understood that inemploying such a jaw closing mechanism, the movable jaw or jaws willclose the mold slot at the front thereof beyond the end or ends of thematrix line presented between the jaws. Thus different lengths of matrixlines may be presented in front of the mold and the casting slot in themold may be longer than the matrix line, in which event the closingmovement of one or both jaws against the line will cause the castingface or faces of one or both vise jaws to cover and close the front ofthe mold slot beyond the end or ends of the matrix line.

As usual in machines of this class, after an assembled line ofmatrices'held between the vise jaws is presented in front of the mold,so that the characters on the matrices are opposite to the casting slot,the mold is advanced to bring its front face into contact with thecasting edges of the matrices, and the mouth II of a metal pot is thenadvanced against the rear face of the mold in the usual manner to closethe back of the mold and to force molten metal into the mold slot tocast the slug therein.

According to the present invention, each vise jaw is provided with alongitudinally extending rib l5 or I6 which projects toward the moldfrom its casting face and is on substantially the same horizontal levelwith the mold slot 5. The rib l5 or IE on each jaw is preferably formedon a slide II or I 8 suitably secured to the respective vise jaw, as byfitting thereof into a dove-tailed recess in the casting face of thejaw, as shown, and the slide on each jaw also carries or has formedthereon a rail 19 or 20 which is parallel to the respective rib l5 orIE. Each of the rails I9 and 20 occupy the proper height on the jaws toenter the usual matrix alining groove 2! formed in the front face of themold and to engage the top edge 22 of such groove, and these rails l9and 20 preferably project from the faces of the vise jaws for a greaterdistance than the ribs l5 and Hi.

The vise jaws, as will be seen from Fig. 3, are of the same thickness asthe width of the body of the matrices as usual, so that the castingedges of the matrices held between the vise jaws will be in the sameplane as the casting faces of the jaws, and while a slug is being castin the mold, the character bearing edges of the matrices and the castingfaces of the jaws engage the front faces of the upper and lower moldsections 3 and 4 and form a metal tight joint or facewise lockuptherewith while molten metal is being injected into the mold slot tocast the character bearing slug. If the line of matrices between thevise jaws is shorter than the length of the mold slot, the edge of theslug beyond the matrices will be blank due to the casting thereof at oneor the other end of the mold slot against the lib dill

bill

dill

face of one or the other of the vise jaws as in quadding, or the castingof the character bearing edge of the slug beyond the matrices at bothends of the mold slot against the faces of both vise jaws if the line iscentered.

The function of the ribs l and IS on the vise jaws, as provided by thepresent invention, is to enable casting of the blank portion or portionsof the slugs beyond the characters produced by the matrices, at somepredetermined height, as for example a height which will enable theblank portion or portions of the slugs to support directly thereon andat the proper printing height a printing plate or the like, thethickness of which is greater than the depth of the character punchingsin the matrices. Accordingly, each of the ribs l5 and I6 is of greaterwidth than the vertical distance between the upper and lower walls 23and 24 respectively of the mold slot, and in order to accommodate thewidth of the rib beyond these upper and lower walls of the mold slot,longitudinal recess portions 25 and it are provided adjacent to thewalls 23 and 2t, throughout the length of the front faces of therespective upper and lower mold sections 3 and t, as shown in Fig. 2.These recess portions are of the same depth from the faces of said moldsections as the distance to which the ribs lb and iii project from thefaces of the vise jaws, and they present vertical faces 21 and it whichcooperate with the faces of the ribs to and it on the vise jaws. Themold liners 2d and it which space apart the upper and lower moldsections 3 and d and define the ends of the mold slot, and which linersmay be either separate members inserted between the upper and lower moldsections or part of one or the other section, are set back from thefront face of the mold the same distance as are the surfaces fl and itfrom the front face of the mold, so that the vertical front edges ofthese liners, in conjunction with the vertical faces 2i and 2b which liein the same vertical plane therewith, form a recess which extendsentirely across the front face of the mold and closes the bottom of therecess beyond the ends of the mold slot and will be engaged by and willform a metal tight fit with the vertical faces on the ribs it and it.The upper and lower walls of the recess portions lb and it may bebeveled or inclined at opposite angles as shown and the upper and loweredges of the ribs it and it correspondingly beveled, or these walls ofthe recess portions may be perpendicular to the face of the mold inwhich case the upper and lower edges of the ribs lb and it would also beperpendicular to the faces of the jaws, but in any case according to thepresent invention it is intended that these walls of these recessportions present an opening at the front of the mold which is somewhatwider than the ribs iii and it in order to permit free entry of saidribs and permit the vertical faces of the ribs it and it above and belowthe walls fill and f t of the mold slot to engage the vertical faces fland it of the recess at the front of the mold and thereby form afacewise metal tight lock up at the front of the mold slot beyond thematrices. By thus providing vertical faces above and below the upper andlower walls of the mold slot against which the vertical faces of theribs l b and it can engage facewise and close the front of the mold slotbeyond the matrices at a height which will reduce the height of theblank portion or portions of the slug beyond the characters castthereon, clearances can be provided along the top and bottom edges ofthe low-quad forming ribs I5 and i6 projecting from the casting faces ofthe vise jaws and thus avoid the necessity of accurately fitting theprojecting ribs within the mold slot in order to reduce the'height ofthe slug beyond the printing characters.

By providing rails l9 and 20 which project from the faces of the visejaws toward the mold a greater distance than the ribs I5 and t6, theupper edges of the rails l9 and 20 will engage and aline against the topedge 22 of the usual matrix alining groove in the mold in advance of theentry of the ribs and it within the recess in the front face of the moldwhen the mold advances in the usual manner toward the vise jaws and thematrix line between them, thus assuring accurate alinement of the ribsi5 and it with the opposed recess in the mold along the top and bottomedges of these ribs and the recess, so that only a very small clearanceis necessary between these edges of the ribs and the recess in the moldface. Moreover engagement of the rails it and Eli on the vise jaws inthe matrix alining groove in the mold provides firm support of the jawsduring justification of the matrix line by the upward drive of thejustifying bar it against the spacebands in the line, this beingparticularly advantageous when {the invention is applied to jawsarranged to be moved for quadding purposes since such jaws usually fitmore loosely in their guides in the vise frame of the machine than usualto reduce friction and resistance that would otherwise impede their freemovement.

It will be seen from Fig. 3 that, due to the presence of the recessportions fl and it in the front of the mold above and below the castingslot therein, slender fins ti will be produced on the cast slug S, thesefins projecting outwardly at each side of the character bearing edge ofthe slug over the portion thereof which is cast against the matrices.However, the blank portion or portions of the slug beyond the matriceswill be devoid of such fins since the projecting ribs iii and it on thevise jaws completely close the mold slot at the front beyond thematrices by metal tight engagement of the vertical faces of the ribsagainst the opposed vertical faces fl and it of the recess in the moldand by similar metal tight engagement of the vertical faces of the ribsi b and it with the opposed vertical front faces of the mold liners ftand lit. These fins thus cast on the slug will be trimmed off when theslug is ejected forwardly out of the mold and through the usual sidetrimming knives commonly used in machines of this class.

By providing ribs lb and it on slides Ill and it removably mounted inthe respective vise jaws, as shown and generally preferred, differentslides may be employed having ribs iii and it of different widths tosuit mold slots of different heights for casting slugs of differentpoint sizes, but it will be obvious that since it is necessary only forthe vertical faces of the ribs lb and it to seal or close the mold slotat the front by engagement with the vertical faces fl and it and thefront edges of the liners which close the bottom of the recess whichextends entirely across the front face of the mold, a rib of given widthon the face of each jaw may be used with several different height moldslots.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that while the casting orcharacter bearing edges of the matrices in the lines presented to themold close the casting slot therein at the front by engagement as usualwith the vertical front face of the mold, the ribs on the vise. jawsclose the casting slot beyond the matrices by engagement with thevertical walls of the recess across the face of the mold, these wallsbeing formed at such predetermined distance back from the matrixengaging face of the mold as to enable the portion or portions of a slugbeyond the end or ends of a matrix line which is shorter than the moldslot to be always cast automatically at a corresponding predeterminedheight below the normal height of the mold.

The provision of the recess across the front of the mold and presentingsurfaces below the normal height thereof for producing low-quad areas onthe slugs and the provision of continuous ribs on the vise jaws narrowerthan the recess in the mold face and presenting projected surfaces tocooperate facewise with the vertical walls of the recess permits closingof the front of the mold slot by the usual facewise engagement of theparts but at a height below the normal mold height. This not onlyassures a complete metal tight lock-up but it also overcomes thedifficulties heretofore experienced in attempting to aline low-quadprojections or forming tongues to enter within the front of the moldslot between its upper and lower walls and therewith form a metal tightseal to produce slugs with low-quad areas, the construction according tothe present invention affording means for accomplishing engagement ofthe low-quad producing surfaces and the cooperating lock-up surfaces onthe mold when the latter advances as usual towardthe matrix line heldbetween the vise jaws, and for effecting perfect closure of the moldslot thereafter, that are simple and practical and entirely free fromalinement difiiculties.

The provision of alining rails on the vise jaws to cooperate with theusual matrix alining groove in the mold as the latter advances againstthe matrix line in the usual manner assures alinement of the upper andlower edges of the lowquad casting ribs on the jaws with the upper andlower walls of the recess in the mold before the ribs enter such recess.Although the ribs on the jaws are narrower than the recess in the mold,it is desirable that the clearance between the edges of the ribs and theupper and lower walls of the recess be made as small as possible inorder to prevent escape of molten metal at the points where the jawfaces contact with the end matrices of the line, and such is madepossible by the present invention. The engagement of the alining railson the jaws against the top edge of the alining groove in the moldprevents tipping of the vise jaws endwise under the influence of theupward drive applied to spacebands in the line during justificationthereof.

While it is desirable that the vertical faces of the ribs on the visejaws form a metal tight seal or lock-up at the front of the mold byengagement with the vertical faces at the bottom of the recess acrossthe front of the mold, it should be understood that the advantages ofthe invention are not dependent upon this specific condition since aslight clearance between the faces of the ribs and the vertical faces atthe bottom of the recess would merely result in a slight fin beingproduced along the edges of the blank portion or portions of the castslugs beyond the end of the printing characters, and as alreadyexplained such fins will be trimmed off when the slug is ejected. In theevent of such clearance between the ribs and the bottom of the recess, ametal tight lock-up at the front of the mold slot is insured byengagement as usual of the casting faces of the vise jaws with the frontmatrix engaging faces of the mold sections.

I claim as my invention:

1. In or for a slug casting machine, a slotted slug casting mold havinga recess extending across the face thereof longitudinally of andintersecting the mold slot, and a pair of vise jaws movablelongitudinally of the face of the mold and having casting facescooperative therewith, at least one of said jaws having a continuouslongitudinally extending rib projecting from its casting face tocooperate with said recess in the mold face.

2. In or for a slug casting machine, a slotted slug casting mold havinga. recess in the face thereof extending longitudinally of andintersecting the mold slot, and a vise jaw movable longitudinally of theface of the mold and having a casting face cooperative therewith, andhaving a continuous longitudinally extending rib projecting from itscasting face to cooperate with the recess in the mold face, said recessbeing wider than said rib.

3. In a slug casting machine, a slotted slug casting mold having arecess extending across the face thereof longitudinally of andintersecting the mold slot, and a pair of vise jaws movablelongitudinally of the mold face, and having casting faces to cooperatewith the mold face, each jaw having a continuous longitudinallyextending rib projecting from its casting face to cooperate with saidrecess in the mold face.

4. In a. slug casting machine, a slotted slug casting mold having arecess extending across its face longitudinally of and intersecting themold slot, and a pair of vise jaws either or both of which are .movablelongitudinally of the mold face and having casting faces to cooperatewith the mold face to close the mold slot, each jaw having a continuouslongitudinally extending rib projecting from its casting face tocooperate with said recess in the mold face at any closed position ofone or the other jaw.

5. A slotted slug casting mold having a matrix engaging face located ata given height and having a recess extending across its face andpresenting surfaces parallel to but below the height of the matrixengaging face and adjacent to the edges of the mold slot, a pair of visejaws for presenting a matrix line to the face of the mold and havingcasting faces cooperative therewith, and continuous ribs on the castingfaces of the jaws engageable with said surfaces of the recess in themold below the height of the matrix engaging face.

6. In a slug casting machine having a slotted mold with matrix engagingsurfaces above and below the slot, 9. pair of vise jaws each having acasting face cooperative with the matrix engaging surfaces of the moldand a continuous longitudinally extending surface projecting from thecasting face toward the mold and cooperative with the mold for a limiteddistance above and below the casting slot therein and beyond the ends ofthe mold slot.

' '7. In a slug casting machine having a slotted mold with matrixengaging surfaces at the front above and below the slot, a pair of visejaws each having a casting face with a continuous longitudinallyextending surface projecting therefrom toward the mold and cooperativewith the mold above and below the slot therein but between the matrixengaging surfaces at the front thereof.

Ill

h. a slug casting machine having a longitudinally slotted mold and apair of movable vise jaws for clamping lines of character-bearingmatrices in front of the mold at difierent points along the slottherein, means on the mold for alining the characters on the matriceswith the mold slot and alining means on the jaws cooperative with thematrix alining means on the mold.

9. In a slug casting machine, a longitudinally slotted mold having meansfor alining character bearing matrices with the slot therein and a pairof movable vise jaws for clamping lines of matrices in front of the moldat diflerent points along the slot therein, alining means on the jawscooperative with the matrix alining means on the mold, and continuousribs projecting from the casting faces of the jaws and engageablefacewise with the mold above and below the slot therein and at the endsof said slot.

10. In a slug casting machine, a longitudinally slotted mold havingmeans for alining character bearing matrices with the slot therein, anda pair of movable vise jaws for clamping lines of matrices in front ofthe mold at-diiferent points along the slot therein, continuous ribsprojecting from the jaws and engageable facewise with the mold above andbelow the slot therein, and aimlng rails on the jaws projectingtherefrombeyond said ribs and cooperative with the alining I means on the mold.

ii. In a slug casting machine, a longitudinally slotted mold having arecess in its casting face extending longitudinally across the entirewidth of said'face and intersecting the upper and lower walls and theend walls of the mold slot below the level of said face, and a pair ofmovable vise jaws for clamping lines of matrices in front of the mold atdifferent points along the slot therein, continuous ribs projecting fromthe jaws toward the face of the mold and engageable with the baseportions of the recess beyond the ends of the matrix line to close thecorresponding portions of the mold slot.

12. In a slug casting machine, a longitudinally slotted mold having arecess in its casting face extending longitudinally of and intersectingthe mold slot, the face of the mold also having a longitudinal recessfor alining character-bearing matrices with the mold slot, and a pair ofmovable vise jaws for clamping lines of matrices in front of the mold atdifferent points along the slot therein, continuous ribs projecting fromthe jaws and engageable in the recess which intersects the mold slot,and rails projecting from the jaws and engageable in the matrix aliningrecess in the mold to aline the ribs on the jaws with the recess whichintersects the mold slot. i

13. In or for a slug casting machine, a slotted mold having a matrixengaging face at a height to cast character bearing slugs of a givenheight, a pair of vise jaws for presenting different length matrix linesto the mold, and means on the jaws cooperative with the face of the moldatdifierent positions along the mold slot therein but at less heightthan the matrixengaging face thereof for.

casting blank portions on the slugs beyond the matrices in the line. a

14. In or for a slug casting machine, the'combination of a slotted moldprovided with a front faces of the matrices.

matrix engaging face having a recess therein extending longitudinallyabove and below the mold slot throughout the length thereof and from anend thereof to the adjacent end of the mold, and a pair of matrixclamping vise jaws at least one if of which is movable longitudinally ofthe mold slot to close a portion of the slotat the front and having arib thereon cooperative with said recess in the face of the mold toclose said recess at any position of the movable jaw. re

15. In or for a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted moldprovided with a front matrix engaging face having a recess thereinextending above and below the mold slot continuously and longitudinallythroughout the it length of the mold slot and to the ends of the mold,and a pair of matrix clamping vise jaws movable longitudinally of themold slot to close one or the other end portion thereof at the front,each jaw having a rib projecting therefrom toward the mold andengageable in the recess in the face thereof at any position ofthe'respective jaw along the length of the mold slot.

16. In a slug casting machine, a longitudinally slotted mold having arecess extending across its casting face-at the level of the mold slot,and a pair of opposed movable vise jaws for clamping lines of matricesbetween them and in front of the mold at difierent points along the slottherein, said jaws having continuous ribs adapted to project into therecess in the mold and cooperative with said recess to reduce the heightof the mold slot beyond the matrices clamped between the jaws.

17. In a slug casting machine having a slotted to mold with matrixengaging surfaces above and below the slot and having a recess betweensaid surfaces presenting a surface parallel to but below the height ofthe matrix engaging surfaces, a pair of vise jaws and a continuouslongitudinally extending surface projecting from. the jaws toward themold and engageable with said surface of the recess for a limiteddistance above and below the casting slot in the mold and beyond theends of the mold slot.

18. A slotted slug casting mold having matrix engaging faces above andbelow the slot and located at a given height and having a recess betweensaid faces presenting a surface parallel to but belowthe height of thematrix engaging 50 faces. a pair of vise jaws for presenting a matrixline to the face of the mold, and continuous ribs on the jaws engageablewith the surface of the recess in the mold below the height of thematrix engaging face to close the mold slot beyond the ends of thematrix line.

19. In a slug casting machine having a pair of relatively movable visejaws for clamping a matrix line endwise and presenting the. matricesedgewise with their characters aligned horizontally before a slugcasting mold, the vise jaws and matrices having mold engaging surfacesin a common plane, a continuous rib on each of the jaws projecting fromthe mold engaging surfaces thereof toward the mold in horizontalalignment with the characters on the matrices and presenting a castingsurface at either side of the matrix line beyond the plane of the moldengaging sur-

